Instagram is synonymous with taking and sharing photos online. Today, Instagram has over 400 million active users with 77 million of those users living in the United States. Of these 400 million Instagrammers, 60% check their feeds daily. Amazingly enough, the number of the platform’s users is only expected to grow. By 2019, analysts predict that 66% of smartphone using millennials will be Instagram users. This rapidly growing user base makes Instagram a hotbed for marketers looking to promote their brands on the platform. With good reason, Instagram provides a phenomenal marketing and advertising space for companies looking to conduct both qualitative and quantitative social media marketing campaigns

.Instagram Insights

‍Instagram lets brands easily reach their customers and target selective demographics. From a single post,  Instagram insights (such as number of likes and comments on a post) can help marketers gauge the public reception of a product or brand. By identifying visual trends by examining the design of their highest performing photos, marketers can optimize for success by replicating these posts for future campaigns. Customers who enjoy or connect with a brand’s post are much more likely to share it with their following or to reuse its hashtag independently. Instagram provides an immediate way for marketers to see how customers react to their brands and products.

However, some brands also ask customers to create their own Instagram content for the brand. The user-generated content (UGC) created by real customers often resonates more strongly with other customers than the brand-created content does. UGC is 20% more influential when it comes to purchasing and 35% more memorable than other types of media. During a time where content demand surpasses brands’ ability to create content, marketers need to use every advantage possible.

‍Instagram Analytics Tools    

‍To better access its business benefits, Instagram recently came out with a wave of business oriented applications to help companies better assess their posts. There Instagram tools include business profiles, analytics and ad promotions to targeted demographics.

However, there are a number of alternative Instagram analytics tools that diver deeper into the platform. These tools provide a wide array of opportunities for companies active on Instagram, including: post scheduling, social influencer identification, and Instagram post analytics. Pixlee’s free Instagram Analytics tool is one of the best on the market. It offers all the above analytical tools and hashtag analytics. Most importantly, it allows brands to find its most passionate customers and identify the right Instagram influencers to maximize social campaign reach.

Instagram Influencers       These tools and analytics are a reliable way for marketers to assess if a product or brand is gaining traction with current and future users. If, after conducting a hashtag search with Pixlee’s Instagram Analytics, you realize that your brand isn’t getting much buzz online, consider partnering with Instagram influencers. Instagram influencers are individuals who have a large social media following and have the ability to affect their followers buying decisions based off of perceived niche knowledge.

There are three core characteristics to look for in an ideal Instagram influencer: reach, expertise, and brand interest. This does not necessarily mean influencers with an enormous following are the correct choice. In fact, influencers with more than 100,000 followers have around a 1.7 % engagement level while those with around 50,000 have around 3.5% engagement. Also, more often than not, influencers with large followings demand high prices for their recommendations; a long-term relationship is not usually financially plausible for most brands. These influencers usually already have relationships with other brands, which could possibly damage the influencer’s perceived authenticity-- especially if these other brand relationships are too blatant to the public.

Instead of seeking out these mega-influencers, try to partner with influencers with a large enough audience (around 10,000 followers) and high levels of engagement from a demographic that represents your ideal customer.      

‍Instagram has quickly become the powerhouse social media marketing channel. It’s peer-to-peer nature has broad applications for scaling marketing campaigns that build the brand <> customer relationship, create brand awareness, collect public opinion data on products and marketing collateral, and advertise directly to target demographics. With these business benefits, Instagram influencers can be a marketer's ace in the hole for reaching the right audience at the right time in the sales lifecycle.